Ball on bridge over water hazard

[cliveb]

I know that if your ball comes to rest on a bridge over a water hazard, you do not get relief.
My question is whether you are allowed to ground your club on the bridge. Is the surface of the bridge considered the "ground"?

 

[Duckster]

I know that if your ball comes to rest on a bridge over a water hazard, you do not get relief.
My question is whether you are allowed to ground your club on the bridge. Is the surface of the bridge considered the "ground"?

Yes you can ground your club:

Decision 13-4/30. Grounding a club on a bridge is permissible, because an obstruction in a water hazard is not ground in the hazard.

 

[cliveb]

OK, understood. Many thanks for the quick reply.

 

[JezzE]

OK, understood. Many thanks for the quick reply.

By coincidence this is one of the Rules questions coming up in the next issue of the mag...

 

[chrisd]

I bet we all get the right answer now ! :smirk:

 

[palindromicbob]

By coincidence this is one of the Rules questions coming up in the next issue of the mag...

No need to buy it now then

 

[JezzE]

No need to buy it now then

It is but one quarter of many excellent pages

 

[gregers]

I know that if your ball comes to rest on a bridge over a water hazard, you do not get relief.
My question is whether you are allowed to ground your club on the bridge. Is the surface of the bridge considered the "ground"?

is at my club under a local rule,
i had the very same issue in a medal and i planted a ball on a bridge.4 ball and a senior in our group said it was a free drop,the other 2 said it wasnt.so i played 2 balls on that hole just to cover myself and asked the question when we got back to the clubhouse,
it was written on the card none of us had been bothered to read it,ooppps.

 

[rulefan]

is at my club under a local rule,
i had the very same issue in a medal and i planted a ball on a bridge.4 ball and a senior in our group said it was a free drop,the other 2 said it wasnt.so i played 2 balls on that hole just to cover myself and asked the question when we got back to the clubhouse,
it was written on the card none of us had been bothered to read it,ooppps.

What does your local rule say? That you can or can't ground your club?

 

[GreiginFife]

It is but one quarter of many excellent pages

Short edition the next one then? 😉

 

[srixon 1]

On our course they are part of the hazard and marked accordingly. I would assume that you are not allowed to ground your club.

 

[rulie]

On our course they are part of the hazard and marked accordingly. I would assume that you are not allowed to ground your club.

You can touch the bridge with your club even if the bridge is in the water hazard (I believe others have said this already).

 

[rulefan]

On our course they are part of the hazard and marked accordingly. I would assume that you are not allowed to ground your club.

If they are over an open water course, they are by definition in the water hazard. The margin of a water hazard extends vertically upwards and downwards.

 

[gregers]

What does your local rule say? That you can or can't ground your club?

tbh,i cant remember apart from it being a free drop,but hopefully im down the club on sunday and will try and remember to ask that question.
but thinking about it,why would you need/not ground the club if its a free drop?

 

[Colin L]

tbh,i cant remember apart from it being a free drop,but hopefully im down the club on sunday and will try and remember to ask that question.
but thinking about it,why would you need/not ground the club if its a free drop?

What free drop? As said, you do not get relief from an immovable obstruction in a water or lateral water hazard. That’s not a matter of a Local Rule but of Rule 24-2b which is explicit:
Except when the ball is in a water hazard or a lateral water hazard, a player may take relief from interference by an immovable obstruction as follows:


Just to complicate matters slightly, you might find that the end parts of a bridge are outside the margins of the hazard and so you do get relief.

 

[rulefan]

tbh,i cant remember apart from it being a free drop,

That is not an authorised Local Rule. Clubs are not permitted to modify the Rules of Golf. Your club could have problems with Qualifying competitions not being played according to the Rules of Golf.